


don't want any settled scores

by rebellking



Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-01 07:24:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18795688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebellking/pseuds/rebellking
Summary: “It’ll take a lifetime to wash all that money,” she explains, like he doesn’t already know, like that wasn’t his plan, teeth clenching when he laughs silently, mocking her.“Yeah, that’s kinda the point.”“I told you already, I’m done,” Beth says, throwing the brown bag on the large conference table where it lands with a loud thud before spinning on her heels, fully prepared to walk right out the door, away from him.“You seem to be forgettin’ somethin’”, he calls after her.Beth resists the urge to roll her eyes, turning around and raising her arms before slapping them down to her sides. “What’s that?”“Our mutual friend.”-OR how it's all gonna go down in 2.11 based on the promos and synopsis.





	don't want any settled scores

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the song 'bored' by billie eilish.

By all accounts, Beth should be exhausted. She had doven headfirst into PTA Mom again; potroasts for dinner, folding towels into swans, and all-out baking for her kids’ events. Not to mention, forcing herself to pretend like she enjoyed spending time with Karen and Company. Rio was right, as much as she despised that, it was like having her soul sucked out of her, like the more ridiculous, insignificant choices she made, the less she cared about anything at all. She loved her children more than anything, but _who_ the _absolute_ fuck _cares_ about the color of balloons used at an elementary school party? Not her, that’s for damn sure. The icing on the cake was the FBI storming the dealership, looking for things they would never find, thanks to Rio, but somehow knowing exactly _where_ to look. Beth still had no clue _how_ they knew.  

Beth _should_ be exhausted, but instead, she felt... _exhilarated._

She knew it was crazy, could still feel the confused, apprehensive looks that she had gotten from Annie and Ruby when she told them the raid had been “fun”. It was though. It was _exciting_ ; running to grab the books before the FBI got there, knowing that at any second the women’s restroom could have been knocked down, being smart enough to flush the pages down the toilet, to hide the ledger, and, the best part, the _look_ on James’ face. The bastard thought he had the upper hand, but he had no idea who he was dealing with. He didn’t know just how deep Rio’s connections went, not that Beth did either.    

Rio. She is so disoriented with him, she is almost angry. No, you know what? She _is_ angry. She was done, it was over. She had taken all of the necessary precautions. She had given him a warning, blocked his number, had gone to AA meetings, and had become the dutiful wife and mother again. Beth didn’t want to be thankful towards him, didn’t want to owe him _anything_ anymore, and yet, here they are. She had been a bit naive, should have known it wouldn't be as easy to escape him as she thought that it would be.

It had been a week since the raid. A week since she had destroyed evidence that could have cost her, her family, and her friends everything. The dealership was still under police custody, no one but the authorities were allowed in or out. Every day it was shut down was another day they weren’t making money, another day that their newly restored reputation took a hit, another day that Beth worried, that she considered going back. A week since she had seen Rio, since he had warned her, and ever since, she kept looking over her shoulder, waiting for something else to happen, _hoping_ that _something_ would happen. At the dry cleaners, at the park, at swim or dance practice, at her house; Beth seeks him out, finding nothing. A week since she wondered why he did it.

Beth tried to keep the kids out of it, tried to distract them with sweets and movies whenever they asked why her and daddy weren’t at work. When Kenny heard about the raid from kids at school, she told him it was all a misunderstanding, struggling to keep up the smile and act.

“Miles said you and dad almost got shot! He said the police came in with big guns, guns bigger than in Call of Duty!” Kenny exclaimes at her one day while eating his after school snack of celery and peanut butter, pretending the celery is a gun and aiming it at Beth.

Beth forces a smile onto her face, her voice higher than she expects when she replies, “ well now, doesn’t Miles have an active imagination”, then adds, in order to stop any further comments, “finish up your snack, please, and grab your swim bag so I can put a fresh towel in it.”

Kenny avoids eye contact with Beth as he chomps down on a stick of lettuce, a sheepish look on his face as he admits, “it’s still in the car from yesterday.”

“Kenny Dean Boland! Mister, how many times have I told you to hang up your swimsuit after practice? Now it’s still going to be all damp. Please go grab a clean one while I get the wet one out of the trunk.”   

Kenny climbs off of the stool and runs at full speed up the stairs, almost knocking over Jane in the process to which she shouts, “hey!”

Beth sets both hands on the cool kitchen counter, closing her eyes briefly, breathing in and out once before grabbing her keys from inside her purse that had been sitting on a barstool. She grabs her light, black trench coat from its place in the hall closet before heading out into the Michigan fall weather. The “mama van” chirps when she unlocks it, walking around to the back where Kenny’s swim duffel bag should be. After she opens the trunk and sees what’s inside, she has to push the door down partially, looking around to make sure no one else is around, swallowing harshly before lifting the door up, checking to make sure she actually saw what she thought she did.

She bites the inside of her cheek, suppressing a smile that shouldn’t be there. Movement across the street passes through her peripheral vision, something telling her to look up, and she sees Rio sitting in his car, watching her, anticipating her reaction. She takes a few steps forward, looking at him in puzzlement, and reflexively pointing back to the trunk. Rio responds with a glance that says _go on_ so she backtracks to the trunk, unzipping the brown leather bag that’s placed next to Kenny’s swim bag, finding cash, specifically bundles and bundles of money with red rubber bands around them. _Funny money_ . On the very top, is a note listing an address in Detroit and a time: _10 a.m._. Beth’s head whips up, but he’s gone. A gust of wind blows past her, pushing her hair back and causing her to shiver, accompanying the rapid thumping of her heart.

x

Beth makes sure to hug each of her kids extra tight when she drops each of them off at school, watching them walk into the building until the cars behind her honk their horns, resisting the urge to flip them off. She parks in a spot quickly in order to put the address into her phone, purposefully ignoring the thrill that zips through her veins. The address seems to be in the middle of nowhere, but all she’s doing is dropping off the bag and leaving. That’s it.

As she pulls up to the location, a seemingly abandoned building on the outskirts on downtown Detroit, an eerily familiar feeling washes over her. _You’re just returning the money and then you’re gone_ , she tries to reassure herself. Maybe he thought that because he had warned her that they were back in business, maybe it was just a miscommunication. Beth walks apprehensively to what appears to be the front of the building, creaking open the door, and stopping suddenly, chills running all over her body when she realizes that there is no way this is a mistake.  

There are piles and piles and _piles_ of fake cash in the otherwise empty warehouse. There are still people unloading pallets of it as she stares, her eyes flickering wildly to each pile, trying to count and losing track each time. Her arms hang limply by the her side, her right foot tapping as she spots _him_ , talking to an intimidating man with a clipboard. He’s decked out in all black, which seems to be his uniform as of late, with a black winter hat on his head. His eyes flicker to her before going back to his conversation, almost as if it didn’t happen.

Beth grips the leather bag tighter to her body before storming over to where he stands, her heels clacking loudly on the concrete as she passes the mounds of money. He waits until she’s right in front of him to look at her, tilting his head slightly, a small smirk on his face when he sees the fire coming off her body in waves. He excuses himself from his conversation with clipboard man before turning his back on both of them, heading to a set of stairs off to the side. Beth, as polite as ever, smiles quickly at clipboard man before chasing after Rio.       

As she climbs the staircase after him, she violently whispers, “what are you _thinking_? The FBI is closer to us than ever, what if they get wind of this place, what if--”

She can see him shake his head, can practically envision the carefree smile on his face as he takes a step, always irritatingly calm and sure of himself.

“They won’t.”

“How could you _possibly_ know that?”

He seems to mull her question over, considering whether or not to fill her in, working his jaw.

They’re arrived at the top of the staircase now, in an empty hallway with a series of doors along each side. Rio walks to the one right in front of them, opening the door, and ushering her inside. It’s a conference room, overlooking the Ambassador Bridge, clearly renovated recently, a can of paint in the corner, boxes along the wall. All the walls are painted except for one, covered in light bricks. Who knew criminals liked a feature wall?   

He purses his lips, glancing around before saying with a shrug, “it ain’t really much of your concern anymore, now is it?” He towers over her, looking her in the eyes, wanting to see her reaction when he adds, “what you _do_ got to worry about though is how you and your lady friends are gonna take care of all that money down there.”

Beth juts her chin out, eyes widened in surprise. His eyes twinkle, reveling in her heat, her fury, getting exactly the reaction out of her that he wanted, had wondered where _his_ Elizabeth had gone.     

“ _Excuse_ me?” she replies without breathing.

Rio is silent, letting her process what he’s saying, stepping closer to her, hands locked in front of his body.

“It’ll take a _lifetime_ to wash all that money,” she explains, like he doesn’t already know, like that wasn’t his plan, teeth clenching when he laughs silently, mocking her.   

“Yeah, that’s kinda the point.”

“I told you already, I’m done,” Beth says, throwing the brown bag on the large conference table where it lands with a loud thud before spinning on her heels, fully prepared to walk right out the door, away from him.

“You seem to be forgettin’ somethin’”, he calls after her.

Beth resists the urge to roll her eyes, turning around and raising her arms before slapping them down to her sides. “What’s that?”

“Our mutual friend.”

Beth stills in her tracks, her hand tightly grasping the door handle. All she can do is gape at him, but his demeanor doesn’t change. He stands tall, looking her over like he can see _her_ , like he knows every thought, every secret, every desire. After a minute, her eyes narrow, her entire face squished with anger.

“ _What_ ?” she manages to spit out, anger dripping from her voice, nostrils flared. She’s breathing heavily now, her heart threatening to explode out of her chest. _“One man’s trash…”_  

 _Fuck_ . How could she have forgotten? She had been so preoccupied with Ruby and getting her children back and with trying to mold herself into her old form that she completely forgotten about Boomer. More importantly, she had forgotten _who_ still had Boomer’s body. Is this who she is now? A person who forgets about the man she had tied up, threatened, and held a gun to? She may not have been the one to kill him, but she _easily_ could have been. Rio had taught her, she had almost pulled the trigger. Beth knew she wasn’t innocent in this, she had helped throw a man’s body in a garbage bin after all, but she didn’t know that it was going to come back and bite her in the ass this hard.

“You said--you _made_ me--,” Beth says, floundering as he just stares at her, waiting impatiently for her to finish, crossing his arms beneath his armpits, eyebrows high on his forehead. She can tell that he’s straddling the line between irritated and enraged, knowing how quickly he can cross from one to the other when it comes to her.    

“I made you _what_ ? I made you leave your pearls on the door that day? I made you keep comin’ back? I made you want to be partners? Darlin’, this has been all _you_ from the start.”

“It was a mistake,” she tries, attempting to convince herself as much as him.   

“How do you _still_ not get it?” Rio challenges, stepping forward unconsciously, the same dumbfounded look on his face as when he told her to get her head on straight. It made her feel so incredibly small, like they were right back where they started. It was like all the respect that he had had for her was gone, like she wasn’t the boss bitch, but instead, just simply the bored, tired housewife he used to think she was. Last time, she felt stupid, helpless. Last time, this look made her feel ashamed, but, this time, it just adds fuel to her fire.    

Rio is close now, _too_ close. She can feel the heat radiating off of him, can see his long, dark lashes, can smell the intoxicating scent of him. “You ain’t got a choice. This ain’t some book club you can just quit. This membership don’t have an expiration date.”

“I have my children back. I told Dean it was over,” Beth tries again, barely containing the anger inside of her, it stirring deep inside, threatening to bubble over the surface.

“Yeah? Maybe you should of thought of that _before_ you wanted 50/50. This is on you, _not_ me.”

Beth means to retort, to yell, to hit him even, but instead she’s lunging forward, grasping each side of his face in her hands as she kisses him _hard_ , bruising even. It only takes him a second to respond, wrapping his fingers in her hair and pulling her harshly against him. He kisses her back, slipping his tongue inside as Beth lets out a whimper.

Suddenly, her feet are off the ground when Rio picks her up, depositing her onto the table. Beth had always been kind of self-conscious about her weight, loving her curves but knowing that society often had other ideas. Knowing that Rio could lift her easily, that it was no big deal, is _such_ a turn on for her, worshipping her when he runs his hands down her body, stopping at her ass and kneading the flesh through her jeans. He steps further into the open space between her thighs, picking her legs up so that she instinctively wraps them around his waist, leaving her on the very edge of the table.

Rio leans down, their lips inches apart, when he sidesteps her mouth, attaching his instead to her neck. Beth whines unintentionally, her pink skin turning red. She sinks her nails roughly into his hair, but just makes him breathe a laugh against her skin, sucking harder at her neck when he returns. He bites down on the sensitive flesh at the crook of her neck, her lips pressed together in pleasure before letting out a moan.

Impatient, Beth pushes his head away, seeking his lips instead. She can see the giant smirk on his face before their mouths press together, pulling him closer by the collar of his shirt as they do. Before she knows it, her pants are undone, Rio’s warm hand making it’s achingly slow way to where she wants it the most when her phone goes off.

Beth’s head instinctively turns towards the source of the noise, coming from her handbag that’s on the opposite side of the room. Rio seems happy to ignore the ringtone, his eyes still closed, forehead against the side of her head as he breathes deeply with lips parted. Beth lets go of him, and after a few seconds, he does the same, detangling himself from her, stepping back. She forces herself to not to reach out for him as he leaves her, choosing instead to focus on quickly buttoning up her jeans before getting off of the table and making her way towards her phone.

Two missed calls from Annie. This can’t be good, especially since Annie usually just texts.

When Beth looks back up, Rio is also on his phone, seemingly casual about what just happened. He looks up briefly when she clears her throat, loud and awkwardly, and says, “I have to go, it’s an emergency.”

He nods, eyebrows raised slightly as he types away on his phone. Beth looks him over once, searching for any sign that she wasn’t imagining what had just happened, trying to ignore the before spinning on her heels and heading towards the door.

“Ain’t you forgettin’ somethin’?” Rio asks, waiting for her to turn back around before gesturing towards the brown leather bag with jaw and adds, “there’s more where that came from.”

Beth grits her teeth, wanting to argue, and knowing that she can’t. She reluctantly walks towards the table as he watches her, a wicked smirk on his face in approval. “This conversation isn’t over”, she says, as if she’s chastising him for forgetting to do his chores.

Rio hums lightly, shaking his head as he replies, “I’d expect nothin’ less.”

Beth stares at him for a moment before yanking the door open and walking quickly towards and down the staircase. She waits until she’s made it into her car, alone, to finally set free the delighted smile that she had been holding back from him, from her friends, her family, from _herself_.    

**Author's Note:**

> There will be a follow-up chapter to this! The next one will feature assumptions of how I think, or wish, beth's "when does it end?" quote and Rio touching Beth's face ONCE AGAIN will play out. I'm hoping to have it finished by the time the next episode premieres! The next chapter will be rated explicit, for sure ;)
> 
> Come find me at rioravish on tumblr if you ever have any prompts or just want to talk good girls!


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